Gathering Information with Parent Surveys

Kathi Byington

As the month of August approaches, we teachers are preparing for the reality of a brand-new school year with many of us teaching students remotely. To create a successful and inclusive virtual classroom based in support, trust, and equity, we need to rely more than ever on our students’ parents and caregivers.

One tool that can help teachers connect with their new families is a distance-learning reflection survey on Google Forms. I created such a survey in March to gather information that would help me better serve my students and their families as they began using their home space as their classroom.

These are some of the questions I asked on the survey:

• What type of device(s) does your child use at home?
• What have been the greatest challenges for your child so far?
• Approximately how much time has your child spent per day completing his or her assignments?
• Which type of assignment(s) has your child enjoyed completing online?
• What is the best day and time period to hold virtual meetings in your household?
• Is there anything else you would like to share with me as we move forward together on our distance-learning journey?

My parents appreciated that I asked for their input, and made every effort to have their children attend my virtual whole-class and small-group meetings, since I scheduled them based on their timetable, not mine.

I plan to use this survey again at the beginning of this year to ensure that I am planning my instruction with the basic access needs of my families in mind. I’ll also email follow-up surveys to check the “pulse” of my classroom as the year and remote learning progress as well as to determine the information and materials I’ll share with parents at our virtual Back-to-School Night and parent conferences:

• What specific guidance does your child need on his or her learning management system?
• What do you need to support your child’s learning—guided and independent—at home?
• Which social-emotional activities do you think your child benefits from the most?
• What does your child like to do for fun at home?
• Do you have any suggestions or ideas to support remote learning?

In these uncertain times, teachers and families must establish a strong communication line so that clarity and trust can be built at a distance. This survey can be one of those connections to give us the essential information we need to guarantee that we are meeting the needs of all students in our classrooms.